Commentaries on American Law, 14th Ed. 4 Vols. Boston, 1896

Kent, James; Gould, John M, Editor; Holmes, Oliver

Publication Date: 1896

About this Item

The Final Edition of Kent's Commentaries Kent, James [1763-1847]. Gould, John M. [1848-1909], Editor. Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Jr. [1841-1935], Editor. Commentaries on American Law. Fourteenth Edition. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1896. Four volumes. Octavo (9-1/2" x 6"; 24.3 x 15.24 cm). Original cloth, blind frames to boards, red and black lettering pieces to spines. Light soiling and shelfwear, a few minor stains to boards, light edgewear and a few nicks to lettering pieces, spine ends bumped. Light toning to interiors, light soiling to a few leaves in each volume, a few cracks to text blocks of Volumes I and II, faint dampstaining to margins of Volume I. A very good set. $1,500. * Final edition. Based on the 12th edition by Holmes, all of his notes retained. Kent's Commentaries is probably the single most important interpretation of American law. Writing in 1847, Marvin ranked it above Blackstone and observed that it contains "not only a clear statement of the English law, with all the alterations that have taken place since the time of Blackstone, but a full account of the main principles of Equity, also, a review of the modifications engrafted on the English law by the different states of the Union." Marvin's latter observation points to the significance of this landmark work. Published at a time when there was significant opposition to English law, Kent's Commentaries established it in a manner that appealed to the majority of influential American jurists and legislators. Marvin, Legal Bibliography 438. Dauchy [et al.], The Formation and Transmission of Western Legal Culture: 150 Books that Made the Law in the Age of Printing 104. Catalogue of the Library of the Harvard Law School (1909) I:1088.

Seller Inventory # 72455

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Commentaries on American Law, 14th Ed. 4 Vols. Boston, 1896
• Publication Date: 1896
• Binding: Hardcover
• Seller catalogs:
  • Antiquarian & Scholarly